Do-it-yourself wall alignment with drywall without a frame (video)

The evenness of the walls is a sore spot in most modern apartments. If you started large-scale repairs, you will have to spend a fortune on plaster alone. And about how much time and energy the alignment process takes, we generally keep silent. However, all this can be avoided by using plasterboard sheets, each of which levels a sufficiently large area, while having an affordable price. And even practiced wall alignment with drywall without frame, which is especially true when it comes to a small room. Let's figure out how to properly complete this procedure.

Why drywall?

Aligning the walls with drywall, you get a number of significant advantages:

• The composition of drywall sheets does not harm human health and the environment.
• Installation can be carried out even by a layman.
• Material is not subject to decay.
• Drywall does not interfere with air circulation, has the property of vapor permeability.
• After installation in the room, the sound insulation index improves.
• After installing drywall sheets, there are many options for further finishing.
• Drywall creates minimal load on the supporting structures due to its light weight.

Some aspects of the upcoming work

Aligning the walls with drywall without a profile requires minimal time and effort, because there is no need to build structures. However, there are several points to consider before starting work:

1. Alignment of walls with drywall is carried out before laying the floor.
2. The surface of the wall to which the sheets will be attached must withstand the load exerted by the facing layer. Ideally, drywall should be mounted on load-bearing surfaces that are not in contact with moisture and are not subject to temperature differences, otherwise moisture-resistant sheets with a green color and GKLV marking.
3. The application of this method is permissible only if the walls in the room have a curvature of not more than 4 cm.
4. With the frameless method, it is impossible to create niches, additional shelves and partitions.
5. Laying of communications and wiring is done before the start of work on leveling with drywall, the holes for sockets in the sheets are also better to cut in advance.

Reference: the cost of work on the frameless installation of drywall on the walls in Moscow - from 350 rubles. for 1 square. m, in St. Petersburg - from 320 rubles. for 1 square. m, in other Russian regions prices may vary significantly. This method is cheaper wireframe method, the cost of consumables - drywall, glue - is not included in the price of services.

How to align walls with drywall without a frame?

Preferring this method of leveling the walls, you really can save a few dozen bags of plaster, and if professionals are involved, the cost of the work will also cost significantly cheaper.

Tip. Drywall sheets before installation must be kept indoors for 2-3 days.

Preparatory phase of work

The preparation of the walls is as follows:

• Completely clean the wall from the remnants of the previous finish, tap the surface for voids. If there are any, we discourage the weakly adhering finish and close up the resulting niches with putty.
• Using the building level, rule or plumb, we check the wall for any irregularities, differences in height, deviations from the vertical axes.
• Using all the same tools, we make the necessary markings on the ceiling and floor.

• We clean the wall of dust and dirt using a vacuum cleaner or a broom, examine it for grease and oil stains. It is necessary to get rid of them without fail, so that after the completion of repair work such “beauty” does not appear on the surface of the fresh finish.

Since drywall is afraid of moisture, it should not come in direct contact with screed and other floor surfaces that can transfer fluid to it.

• Before leveling the walls with drywall without using a profile, be sure to treat the work surface with a primer, give it time to dry well. This gives an additional guarantee of strength and improves adhesion to the base.

For smooth concrete walls primer "Concrete contact", for highly absorbent surfaces - Knauf Tiefengrund.

• Throughout the wall we drill holes for dowel-stops, the caps of the screws screwed into them should be at the same level. The number of such beacons is 6 pieces per sheet. Such manipulation will not allow you to go deeper than necessary when pressing drywall with adhesive.

Cutting sheets

Before proceeding directly to leveling with drywall without a frame with your own hands, it is necessary to make the correct cutting of the sheets. Their standard height is 2.5 meters, however, the ceiling in the room can be located higher. Then you will need additional pieces, which we recommend preparing in advance.

Drywall cutting is done according to the marks applied with a pencil or marker. Using a construction knife, make an incision, then bend the sheet and gently break it, we make a similar cut from the back.

If during the work you need to make curly inserts from drywall, use an electric jigsaw for these purposes.

Please note that between the ceiling and the floor it is necessary to leave gaps of 1-1.5 cm. To create such gaps, it is convenient to use drywall trim as a substrate.

Aligning walls with drywall using adhesive

Most often, installation is carried out using ready-made adhesives, which are bred immediately before use, since they tend to solidify quickly.

• With wall irregularities up to 4 mm, gypsum putty is used, which is applied with longitudinal strokes using a notched trowel along the perimeter of the sheet, as well as in its center.
• For walls with curvatures within 4–20 mm, special glue for drywall “Perlfix” from “Knauf” is used. Unlike putty, it is applied to sheets or immediately to the wall not in strips, but in piles, the height of which should not exceed 30 mm.

Consider the type of room where the alignment occurs, if it is, for example, a kitchen, and the wall will continue to be subject to heavy loads due to the installed hanging furniture, we recommend gluing throughout area. The same applies to the situation when tiles will be glued to the wall lined with drywall.

• If we are dealing with a sufficiently curved wall, the roughnesses on which reach 4 mm, gluing is allowed first an intermediate layer of strips of drywall with a width of about 10 cm, which are installed in increments of 30-60 cm. Solid sheets are glued over them.

Installation process

Drywall installation starts from the most right angle.

• Along the entire perimeter of the walls near the floor, pieces of drywall are made into linings that will be removed after the glue dries.
• Sheets are pressed against the wall, gently tapped with a rubber mallet.
• When the glue has dried, the joints between the floor and the ceiling are sealed with silicone. This can not be done earlier, since the adhesive composition dries only with the access of air.

After all the necessary surfaces are aligned, the seams between the sheets are sealed and reinforced with using a special paper tape or serpentine net, and then the entire wall surface is made of drywall putty. Now the room is ready for the final decoration. To do this, use decorative plaster, wallpaper, tile.

In the video below, you can see the steps for leveling the walls using drywall without using a profile.

As you can see, the process of creating perfectly smooth walls with your own hands using drywall, despite all its apparent simplicity, is quite complicated. Before embarking on it, try to objectively evaluate your own strengths; if you lack knowledge, consult with professionals regarding the properties of the materials you plan to use, the optimal primers and adhesives, look at a few video lessons.

Video instructions